Google+ hangouts now allows phone calls with Google voice technology

Users of Google's social network Google+ can now make phone calls from their Google+ Hangouts, using the search giant's Google Voice product. Google Voice co-founder Vincent Paquet said the new feature allows free calls to the United States and Canada, and calls to other countries at low rates. "Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re graduating a third and very popular feature – ability to call a phone number from Hangouts. Calls to the US and Canada are free, and international calling rates are super, super low," he said in a Google+ post. He said this was the third feature to recently graduate, after screensharing and Google Docs. To dial in someone while in a hangout, one can click on the “Invite” button and then on the “+telephone” link, then enter the number to dial, and hit “Add.” "You can only call one number at a time. Dialing a second phone number will replace the existing call," Paquet noted. An article on The Next Web noted this fortifies Google+'s upcoming reputation as the most fully-featured, and free, video conferencing option on the Web. "This is another feature that seems pretty focused on business purposes, becoming extremely useful for teams spread out in different locations, but there is a social application for it, especially when you and your Hangout need to ask a friend a question," it said. But it also noted Google did not refer to Google Voice, the underlying technology or product of the feature. This may show Google is "making an effort to streamline its offerings as not to confuse its users," The Next Web added. "What companies like Google and Apple are doing with features like Hangouts and Face Time is making communication completely seamless and ubiquitous, which has to have the carriers afraid of what’s coming next," it added. — LBG, GMA News